what to do about allergies?

[Danny]

What I've been using lately is Claritin, which may be the same stuff. I take it about an hour before I swim, and it seems to help. I also fixed the leak in my swim goggles, so that I'm not getting so much water in my eyes. Not sure if the problem comes from my eyes, my nose or my mouth, but I now seem to be keeping my eyes dry. I wear a nose clip and exhale slowly through the mouth and nose (even with the clip) to keep water getting up my nose. The hardest is to avoid getting water in my mouth. On a calm day, it's no problem, but when the water gets choppy and I swim into the wind, it's much tougher.

Up until recently, I was pushing my goggles (Aqua-Sphere Seal) against my face to create suction, but it seems that that was just sucking in the water. Lately I started just using the goggles with minimum suction and, to my surprise, they don't leak. This points to a problem with the seal around the lenses, I suspect, and I probably need to spring for a new pair. The one I'm using now is years old, but without the suction it still seems to hold. The question is for how much longer.

[borate]

Originally Posted by Danny

What I've been using lately is Claritin, which may be the same stuff.

The generic is Loratadine. Same drug, much cheaper.

[Danny]

So what is the difference between Cetirizine / Pseudoephedrine and Loratadine? The drug store near me is CVS and they often have their own generic brands of this stuff. Is there any reason to prefer one over the other? Should I try both?

[borate]

Originally Posted by Danny

So what is the difference between Cetirizine / Pseudoephedrine and Loratadine?

Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant. Loratadine is a histamine blocker.
Ask an allergist what he/she recommends for your application.

Of course, there's always that balance between treatment benefits and side effects...
and dosage, perhaps. Check this out.

[Danny]

my wife (a primary care physician) tells me that Pseudoephedrine can raise my blood pressure, since I'm already under medication. So I guess it's Loratadine for me. Thanks for your help.